Safest Place to Hide
by uncutetomboy
Summary: Her life feel's wrong and all Katherine Jones wants is to escape into a world where the hurt stops. Can she continue bringing herself back or will she succumb to the pull of the Other World? MorixKatherine mentioned. T for angst, death, and mention of death. R&R, please!


_Authoress' Notes : Hi, everyone! Sorry about the lack of updates, but I've been crazy-busy with my new job, and the Mad Hattress really didn't want to focus on what she's supposed to do. For those of you waiting for the Kathy!AU stories, they're coming. They're slowly (very slowly…) coming along. _

_Anyway, I was at work today (well, yesterday actually; I meant to post this last night, but I fell asleep, heheh…), watching TMNT episodes from the 2003 series (because my Boss is awesome and said I could do whatever on the computer after I finished my stuff for the day! :D ), and one struck a cord in me, which will be mentioned in my end Authoress' Notes. This is what came of it. The italics are the reality that she's being pulled into._

_As always : a huge thanks goes out to all of you reading this, and all of you who take the time to Review, Favourite, and/or Alert my Stories; it means a lot. Also, again, as usual, please, Read, Review, Favourite/Alert, but most of all… please enjoy~!_

_Major Thanks : To the Neko-chan Almighty; you. Are. EPIC! Love ya, Girlfriend. Thanks so much for Betaing this (well~, the majority of it) for me. _

_Dedication : To everyone who just wants to escape from the harshness of reality, into a world of their own; this is for you! You're not alone._

_Summary : Her life feel's wrong and all Katherine Jones wants is to escape into a world where the hurt stops. Can she continue bringing herself back or will she succumb to the pull of the Other World? MorixKatherine mentioned._

_Disclaimer (1): Nope, I don't own any of the Ninja Turtles characters mentioned or shown below, with the exception of Katherine "Kathy" Jones (no relation to Kat a.k.a. randomlass a.k.a. Neko-chan, before anyone asks); the Ninja Turtles cast belong to Nickelodeon, and the original concept of the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles are the creations of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. I'm just borrowing them to satisfy my Muse, and my Reader's thirst. _

_Disclaimer (2) : Unfortunately, I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any related characters; they're the creations of the amazing Bisco Hatori. I'm just borrowing them to play with!_

_Disclaimer (3) : Although she's only briefly in here, I don't own Kathryn "Ryn" Thompson; she's the creation of the Neko-chan Almighty! I just get to borrow her on a semi-permanent basis. ;3_

A single tear slipped down her face as she looked in the mirror, her eyes far away from the moment she was in…

"Kat?" Morinozuka Takashi stood up at the sight of the brunette teenager who entered the Music Room, hazel eyes red and swollen from crying; she was grateful that the Host Club had finished for the day, as she didn't want her fellow Heiresses to see her in such a state. "Hey, Takashi..." Katherine Jones, his fiancée and a childhood friend of both himself and his Cousin, gave him a watery smile; she felt heavy and weighted down and her mind kept flashing to the reason for her tears.

"_Yo, Case, whaddya call a Kitten on a break?"_

"_Dunno, Raph; whaddya call a Kitten on a break?"_

"_A Kit-Kat!"_

_Casey laughed; more so at the pout on the brunette teenager's face than at his friend's joke._

"Did it happen again, Neko-chan?" Haninozuka Mitsukuni whispered, baby brown eyes wide with concern as Mori quickly crossed the room to her.

"Did what happen again?" Fujioka Haruhi was confused as Katherine nodded and was pulled into Mori's arms.

"_My Lord, Arnold Casey Jones, you're a right jerk!" Kathy whined, "You're supposed to love and nurture me, not tease and taunt me."_

"_An' yer a Katty Brat, Kit-Kat!"_

"_Aw, Casey, quit callin' the Babe names; it's not nice to pick on girls!" The Orange Nunchucku bearer mocked as he hugged the slightly shorter girl from behind, cackling when she squeaked from surprise._

"Irregularly, but on specific days of the year, Katherine-chan experiences "visions", of a sort," Ootori Kyoya pushed his glasses up on his nose, a small frown the only showing of his concern for his classmate.

"Visions? Like a Fortune Teller?"

Katherine shook her head, her voice muffled from where she pressed her face into her fiancée's chest, "No, I could deal better with them if they were that simple."

""Katherine-senpai Sees things that might have been,"" Hitachiin Kaoru and Hikaru chorused.

_A warm chuckle permeated the air, and Kathy stuck her tongue out at the Purple-Bandanad Turtle who was smiling at their antics as Mikey twirled her around once via his grip on her waist; the Blue Twin Katana Wielder simply shook his head at them, although she saw the corners of his mouth fighting to lift upwards._

"_If I'm a Katty Brat, then you're a Goon!" She retorted, shrieking when her larger and more muscled Cousin charged at her playfully, Mikey cackling and diving out of the way, "Yep, total Goon!" She laughed as she ran around the room, Casey chasing her as he swore at her._

"That doesn't make any sense," Haruhi frowned.

"What did you See today, Cher?" Suoh Tamaki asked gently as Mori and Hunny led the obviously distressed girl to one of the couches, sitting down on either side of her.

"Casey," Katherine whispered, her voice sounding choked. "He was laughing at something someone said, and joking around with the Red Turtle - Raphael. I was there, and I told him he was such a jerk." She gave a soft, sad chuckle, "He called me a - a "Katty Brat", and the Orange Turtle - Mikey - told him that it wasn't nice to call girls names. The Purple Turtle - Donnie - was just watching us with a cute smile on his face while the Blue Turtle - Leo - was shaking his head at us; Leo scolded us when I called Casey a Goon and he started chasing me around the room."

"_Can't any of you ever act your age? You're going to break something, __**again**__ -"_

"_Stop bein' such a kill-joy, Leonardo! Act with honour! Defend the Damsel that is I from my Evil Guardian!" Kathy cut him off as she ran behind him, hiding behind his shell as Casey paused, trying to figure out a way around the slightly amused Turtle. _

"Who's Casey? Someone you're close to?" Haruhi saw how distressed this made her friend and hastened, "You don't have to tell me, if -"

Katherine shook her head, burrowing into the support Mori gave her as he wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders. "Casey is - **was** my favourite Cousin; both of us were only children, so we were pseudo-siblings. He died two years ago today. I was only fifteen when I was told by my parents that he'd been mugged when walking to the store one night."

"_You're right, Kathy; I should act with the utmost honour," Leonardo deadpanned before twisting around and expertly scooping her up into his arms, laughing amidst her shrieking and squealing as his fingers danced across her sides, before he tossed her to Casey like a sack of potatoes, "Here you go, Casey."_

"_Not fair, Leo!" She whined as Casey tossed her on the couch, following her down, a dark grin on his face; moments later, the Lair was filled with her giggles, gasps, squawks, and squeals. "Mercy! Mercy!"_

"Oh, Katherine-senpai, I'm so sorry..." Haruhi gasped, hearing the raw pain in the older girl's voice.

"He was an idiot," even the older girl was surprised at her own vehemence, but continued, "he tried to take down a City-wide Gang by himself, and it got him killed; his Mother knew about it, but not even she could stop him from trying to take out every member of that Gang. It shouldn't affect me as much as it does, but my therapist says that it's natural for a grieving mind to come up with happier scenarios and to try creating a world that's free from the grief. Thing is, it should've stopped shortly after it started. I feel like I'm slowly going crazy, but I don't even have that luxury," she spat, fisting her fiancée's jacket in her hands as Mori silently ran a hand through her hair in a gesture that was meant to be soothing. "That world.. I wish it were real, but at the same time, it hurts so much to see him alive and happy. We were always close, and I could talk to him about anything and everything; he was like a male version of Ryn," she was referring to her Best Friend, Kathryn Thompson. "He was the one who started shortening my name; after he died... it felt like Kathy died, so I started going by my full name, because Kathy gets hurt by people, Katherine is a Heiress who could give less of a damn." She closed her eyes tightly, refusing to allow her tears to fall before she opened them, "I just want to stop hurting..."

"Cher!" Tamaki gasped, flitting about. "A Lady doesn't curse!"

"Kat," Mori gave her a little shake when her face went slack and her eyes glazed over. His tone became concerned, "Katherine."

"Katherine-senpai?" Haruhi asked softly, concerned.

"She can't hear you, Haru-chan," Hunny's voice was oddly subdued as he picked up his friend's hand and held it lightly.

"What's going on? Is she okay?"

"She's stuck within her mind right now, Haruhi," Kyoya sighed, mouth turning downwards. "We can only hope she wants to return to us. If she doesn't want to come out of her mind..." He trailed off, leaving it open-ended when it was - in reality - a close-ended sentence.

She heard muffled words floating around her; she couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but she recognized the voices as those from a happier life, so she reached out and grasped them. She **wanted** that happier life.

"Donnie, I think she's coming to!"

"She's waking up; back off, guys! Give her some air!"

"Kitty!"

"Kat, open yer eyes; c'mon. Ya can do it."

"Concentrate, Kathy. Focus."

"My Daughter, return to us," a clawed hand picked up her hand, gently squeezing it.

"Wha'... 'appened?" Kathy - because that's what she preferred - opened her hazel eyes and, blinking, took in the crowd around her bed. "Why'm Ah in bed?"

Splinter withdrew his hand, sitting back to regard her with parental concern.

"You took a nasty hit to the head from Karai, Kath; you've been delirious for several weeks," Donnie spoke up as he gestured at her, "Leo, Raph, can you get her propped up? I promised Casey and April we'd get them the next time she woke up." He hurried out of the room, calling out, "Casey, April! Kathy's awake!"

They nodded and carefully eased her to a sitting position as Mikey rushed forward with several pillows to prop behind her back. "Ah've been... delirious?"

"Yeah, you were really starting to scare us, Katy," her Best Friend, Kathryn Thompson's, violet eyes were dark with worry. "You were talking about another life…"

"Ya've been saying stuff 'bout me bein' dead, Kitten," a voice she missed dearly in her other life - the life without the majority of her misfit family - answered as her Cousin, Casey, entered her room with April right behind him.

"Casey!" Kathy couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes at the sight of him and sobbed as he - looking uncomfortable and concerned - hurried to her side, tucking her in against him. "I - I thought you were dead..."

"Nah, takes more 'n a couple 'a Dragons to snuff me out, Kiddo," he awkwardly rubbed her back as she clung to him; she knew he was used to her being affectionate, but she wasn't one to cling. "Hey, hey, calm down, Kit."

"I'm sorry if I'm a little hysterical, but I thought you were **dead**!" She shuddered, looking around at the concerned faces, "You were dead, except Ryn... But we barely ever saw each other any more, because I lived in Japan…"

"Oh, Kat, even if we **did** live across the World from each other, there's **no way** I wouldn't figure something out so we could still see each other!" Ryn scolded, lightly shoving Casey aside - he grumbled at her - to scramble on the bed and take the slightly older girl into her arms for the biggest hug she could muster.

"Katherine, what did you See, my Child?" Splinter asked her gently after several long moments of the girls hugging, "Something has frightened you severely."

Kathy looked down as Ryn pulled away to sit beside her, "None of you existed - except Ryn - Casey was dead, and I just... I can't deal with that."

"We didn't exist?" Donnie frowned, confused.

"No, neither did The Shredder. I mean, there **was** a Shredder in Ancient Japan, but not **your **Shredder. Not Ch'rell, which meant the Utroms never came to Earth, which means -"

"The Ooze that Mutated us never existed..." Leo trailed off.

"We must have still existed at one point, but as normal, non-mutated Pet Shop Turtles," Donnie mused.

"_Kat, wake up..._"

_"Neko-chan, you're scaring me! It's not time for a nap!"_

"_Katherine-chan, it isn't healthy for you to cling to your fantasy."_

She shook her head, which was beginning to feel heavy, muttering, "No, no, **no!** Don't make me go back! I don't want to go back!" She pleaded, not sure who she was pleading to, but certain that she wanted to stay with her family.

"Katherine?" Splinter reached out for her and she willingly fell into him as he sat down on her other side.

"They're trying to pull me back, Father... I don't want to go back!" Kathy cried out in pain as her head began to pound. "I want to stay here, with you all. Please, don't make me go back!"

"_Is this normal?_"

"_No, Haruhi, it's not. Normally, she comes out of it by now. Kaoru, you don't think..._"

"_If she doesn't want to come back, Hikaru, then there's nothing we can do..._"

"Please... help me..."

"Kat?" Mori appeared in the doorway, concern evident in his dark gaze before he made his way to her side with Ryn reluctantly giving him her spot beside the distraught girl.

"Neko-chan, you're safe. We'll protect you," Hunny was right beside his Cousin, baby brown eyes determined.

"_Cher! Come back! Don't leave us!"_

"We will help you overcome this, my Daughter. Your family is right here," Splinter soothed, his clawed hand gently carting through her hair.

"Thank you..." She whispered, overcome by relief; she didn't have to go back to a life without her family because her family was right here. They were her safest place to hide.

"_I'm sorry, Ootori-sama..."_

_"We've lost her. Her heart just stopped beating..."_

"_Time of Death..._"

"_No..." _

**Fin.**

_Authoress' Notes : Wow, and this came from so far out of left field… Anyway, __I have this came from the TMNT 2003 episode "Reflections" where Donnie stated they, the Turtles and Splinter, - technically - owed their lives to the Shredder and I got to wondering how Kathy - who I see as being aware of the world around her and anything that may be "wrong" - would handle it. Because, if the Turtles weren't there that night, it stands to reason that Casey would have been killed by the Purple Dragons, or another street gang, due to him pissing them off. Basic idea is, Kathy wants to be Kathy, not Katherine, and basically makes herself live in the reality she "created" or, rather, had been created based on the bits she Saw from Kathy Prime (which would be The Kathy Chronicles). Also, I got an idea from a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode I saw years ago; I think the title was "Normal Again"? It was the one where Buffy kept going back and forth between what she thought was her "real life" (when she was in an insane asylum) and what she thought she "made up". In the end, she chooses the one she "made up" but which is actually the reality she should be in… and that made more sense in my head. XD_

_I'd like to make a note that this one-shot is completely separate from any of my other Kathy Jones stories, although you could consider it an Alternate Universe of sorts, since in the end she makes her own "perfect" Universe._

_I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this, as I'm not one who usually writes angst; especially angst of this calibre._

_**Anyway!**__ Thank you to everyone for Reading, Alerting, and Favouriting myself and my Stories, but most especially to those who take the time to Review; it means a lot. I think everyone else who is also an Author/ess knows this as well as I do._

_Please Read and Review; the more reviews an Author/ess receives on a story, the more and quicker s/he is spurred to write. I accept all reviews: Comment, Compliment, and Criticism (preferably __**Constructive**__ Criticism); I accept Flames, but nothing with swearing in it, since the Default Profanity Filter is on my reviews._

_Cowabunga,_

_Lor a.k.a. uncutetomboy_


End file.
